I am a stress snacker. So, with a few days left before Appetite for Awareness 2012, you can imagine that I’m searching for some serious crunch. Unfortunately, the bags of Mary’s Gone Crackers Gluten-Free Pretzel Sticks that we received a few weeks ago were polished off, well, a few weeks ago.

For the past 10 days, we have been hosting a daily Q&A with Mary Waldner, founder and chairman of Mary’s Gone Crackers, and the company sent us a few bags of gluten-free Pretzels to try for a product review. Now, these aren’t your average pretzel sticks. In addition to being certified gluten-free, vegan and kosher, they come in bold flavors like Curry (smoky!) and Chipotle Tomato (spicy!). Don’t worry, there’s also a Sea Salt flavor for purists.

All three flavors of gluten-free pretzels.

The Pretzel Sticks are made from wholesome gluten-free ingredients like brown rice, amaranth, millet and flax seeds which loads them with 4g of fiber and 4g of protein – more than the usual pretzel stick. The mixture also gives them a hard crunch that lasts. Remember how stale pretzels used to get by the end of a party? Not here.

All three flavors are on the salty side, so enjoy them with a drink in case you get parched. That saltiness, however, makes them ideal for a dunk in fresh guacamole or melted chocolate. My favorite pairing was to dip Mary’s Gone Crackers Curry Pretzel Sticks into natural, no salt added peanut butter. The earthy curry flavor balanced the peanut butter’s creamy texture, and the salt in the pretzels brought out the nutty sweetness of the peanut butter. It was a satisfying snack in all regards.

Now, I wish I had more of those Pretzel Sticks. Fortunately, Mary’s Gone Crackers is sending some gluten-free goodies to Appetite for Awareness, and I can’t wait to have a taste.

Facebook Chat – Today!

Visit NFCA’s Facebook page today at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT for the chance to ask Mary of Mary’s Gone Crackers your questions. Why did she choose to make Gluten-Free Pretzel Sticks? What’s her method for inventing a recipe? The questions are up to you. NFCA on Facebook »